ABSTRACT
Wandering through the over-stuffed educational reform museum has been depressing, and to be frank, the future looks bleak. Failed “guaranteed” educational reforms would fill a colossal museum and exhibits forever expand. Ironically, virtually every contemporary educational calamity was once heralded as the Messiah only to be discarded as a new and improved Messiah arrived. Americans are optimists, and infatuations with glittering promising novelties can, unfortunately, help avoid painful realities. American public schools perform reasonably, sometimes exceptionally well, in spite of reformers’ “best efforts.” Elected public officials from the president on down are never vulnerable if they propose educational nonsense. Moreover, wealthy foundation executives funding iffy schemes can help their own children by moving to localities providing first-rate education, use private schools, hire tutors or otherwise exploit private sector services providing superb outcomes to the affluent.
